This invention relates to an improved edible material and, more particularly, an edible material comprising partially gelled, hydrophilic mannan paste having a high degree of affinity for mashed or kneaded fish meat paste, and a method of producing the edible material.
It is well known that the mannan gel formed by adding an alkali to mannan paste is quite similar in texture, flexibility and elasticity to foodstuffs made of fish meat paste, and gives an oral sensation similar to that experienced when such foodstuffs are eaten. In the fish meat paste product industry, various studies and experiments have been made to improve the texture of fish meat paste products by mixing fish meat paste with mannan paste or mannan gel.
As is well known, the mannan gel formed by adding an alkali to mannan paste has completely lost solubility in water and become a tough gell without affinity for water. Therefore, if such tough mannan gel is mixed with fish meat paste and kneaded into a mixed paste, which is coagulated by heating, the product would have a jelly strength lower than those of fish meat paste products which do not contain mannan gel. This is believed to be because particles of mannan gel having no affinity whatsoever for fish meat paste are merely dispersed in fish meat paste or even destroy the reticular structure of the coagulated fish meat paste product.
On the other hand, the fish meat paste product formed by mixing fish meat paste with mannan paste and an alkali, kneading the mixture to produce uniform paste and coagulating the paste by heat has a reduced jelly strength. The reason for this is believed to be as follows: since the conditions such as temperature, time, pH, etc. for gelation of fish meat paste differ from those for gelation of mannan paste, when a mixed mass of fish meat paste and mannan paste is heated, the two kinds of paste in the mass form different layers of gel which do not possess affinity for each other, so that when an exterior force is applied to the mass, the layers are likely to be displaced relative to each other with resulting reduction of the jelly strength of the mass.
Another problem is that heating foodstuff containing protein as a chief component with alkali added thereto deteriorates the taste of the food.
There have been proposed no mannan gels having affinity for fish meat paste, nor suitable methods of effectively preventing the jelly strength of food products of fish meat paste from decreasing due to addition of mannan to the paste.
Based on the understanding that the reduction of the jelly strength of food products of fish meat paste containing mannan gel is caused by lack of mutual affinity between mannan gel and fish meat protein gel, the present inventors have conducted various studies and experiments in an effort to improve mutual affinity between the two kinds of gel and found out that by adding an acid to mannan paste in the course of gelation so as to neutralize the alkali added to the paste as a gelling agent thereby to suppress or prevent the gelation from proceeding further, and adjusting the pH of the paste within a particular range, it is possible to produce a partially gelled, hydrophilic mannan paste having a desired jelly strength.